A differnt ending
by Martialarts95
Summary: Takes place at the near end of book two. Its an alternate version of how Will is kidnapped by the Skandians.
1. Chapter 1

Clarifications:

**Ok fist of this entire entire tale takes place in book two: The Burning Bridge. It is a revision of the end of the twenty-fifth chapter, where Will and Evelyn are captured by Erak and his men. It isn't that I didn't enjoy the way John Flanagan took the story that inspired me to write this. I was merely curious of what would happen if things went a little differently with Will, and did my unsurpassed job to create that. So with this said I hope you enjoy the story and thank you for taking time to read it. I appreciate honest reviews, and any tips or suggestions are loved. **

**I do not own Ranger's Apprentice.**

Chapter One: Capture

Will allowed a slight grin to cross his features. Despite the enormous heat radiating from the bridge behind him and the cramp he was now registering from the rocky plateau he was kneeling on, he couldn't help but feel the warmth of satisfaction running through his veins.

After causing the mighty Wargals to retreat from his arrows, all self doubt Will had once felt vanished from his system.

Yet the beam faded once again, as more figures emerged from the cave. Will sent an arrow above the shapes heads, as a warning. However, instead of retreating again like he had expected, they scattered into the depths of the rock formations.

It wasn't long before the apprentice recognized their strategy.

He turned to Evelyn who had just finished the fire, "That's good, go back!"

Trusting him to follow her, she darted across the foundation, doing her best to mimic Will's movements of being fast and careful.

Will continued to fire arrow after arrow at the advancing Skandians.

A figure darted across his line of sight. Seeing his chance, Will reached for another arrow. His hand searched for the familiar feel.

However, his heart plummeted to his stomach and he began to feel nauseas as he realized that, there were non left in his quiver. Quickly, he turned back to the burning platform. Evelyn was a few foot from the other side. _If I go now I can make- _He had no chance to put his thoughts into action.

For a meaty hand clasped onto the back of his cloak and jerked him backwards with enough force that sent him through the air. A trick Halt showed him popped into memory, and once he felt the ground meet his back, he used the momentum to do a backwards somersault and bring himself once again to his feet, not wasting valuable time on the ground.

Again his heart skipped a beat, for when he straitened again, his back collided into another large, overweight pirate. Will tried to dart forward, but was encased by the man's arms. Will kicked and struggled with all his might. Unfortunately, even with almost a years training with Halt, this man was at least three times stronger than Will.

Abruptly he glanced up just in time to see the impressively sized fist, launching itself towards his unprotected face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all of the honest reviews. Here is the next chapter, please review and let me know what you think.**

Chapter two:

The devastating blow to Will's face didn't knock him fully unconscious. However, his feeble attempts to catch himself were fruitless as he discovered that he no longer had the strength to at least keep his eyes open. His body slumped against the man that was still holding him under his arms. His stomach churned violently, and for a second he thought he would vomit all over himself.

The voices from the Skandians were loud yet slurred beyond his hearing ability. His mind felt horribly sleepy, and Will struggled to stay conscious. Soon later he felt as if he were drifting in the peacefulness of a cool lake.

The battle was then lost, as Will became oblivious to the world.

When his body finally seemed capable of moving, Will's face felt swollen.

His eyes fluttered and he sensed his surroundings to be a cool and eerie environment. It was nearly impossible to see through the darkness that seemed to leer down upon him. Yet he found the crude shape of the cell door to be unmistakable.

Will was half lying, half sitting against the furthest wall from the door. Normally Will would not have gulped of fear from the dark, but after capture in unknown surroundings, plus remaining blind of the small details of his prison. He couldn't help but feel slightly nervous.

A door was thrown open on his left, and he immediately shut his eyes. The apprentice hid the wince as best as he could, as he made an effort to appear asleep.

His curiosity soon took over and he opened his eyes just enough to see what was happening.

Two Skandian men entered, possibly the same who had grabbed him, he judged. They were hauling something between them, and as soon as they came closer, thanks to the light from the door Will could see the shape perfectly.

The figure was dainty, with hips that curved slightly. Black hair hung like a bridal veil, concealing the girl's features.

"Stupid brat!" one of the men bellowed.

"Never knew a bag of bones could be so feisty," the other grunted in reply. He unlocked the caged door to Will's cell, leaving the girl dangling by her left arm.

They dragged her a few feet into the prison and simply dropped her face first onto the cobblestone.

Will winced as he thought of how much that hurt.

With a laugh and not so much as a glance as Will, they left and slammed the door so loud he was sure everyone from there to Gallica heard it.

Will's concern lay with the poor girl who was now his cell mate. The pain in his head had dulled some, and he felt it easier to see in the dark cavern. However, he could no longer see her small frame. So he moved to a position on his hands and knees and began to crawl in the general direction of where they had dropped her.

"Hello?" he asked. Will hadn't really expected her to answer; he supposed he asked just for the sake of seeing if she would.

After at least a minute of sliding, he began to feel confused. Shouldn't he have found her by now? Then realizing how slow he was actually going, Will kicked the speed up a notch. Something cold slid under his seeking hand. Whatever it was felt clammy and lifeless.

He cried out and jerked away from the hand. He then rolled his eyes at himself.

After all it's not as if he hadn't seen a dead body before. Still in the back of his mind Will felt that the situation was unnerving.

Trying to be as gentle as possible, Will rolled her onto her back. Her skin was so pale it seemed to glow against the contrast of her raven colored hair. He hesitantly put a finger to her neck and found a strong and steady pulse. Blood was oozing out of a fresh wound on her forehead. Will quickly brought his cloak around and lightly pressed it to the laceration. She moaned from the touch, and her eyes began to flutter. Green eyes widened suddenly with a look of horror. Before Will knew it, he was on his back with her booted foot pinning his right arm. Her knee was putting pressure on his throat, and his wrist being held in such a hold, he felt the slightest movement would shatter his entire forearm.

Thank you for reading!!

PLEASE review and tell me what you think.

I know there hasn't been much dialog in the story so far, but trust me there will be more in the coming chapters.


	3. Chapter 3

**Whoa!! I am so sorry! I totally did not mean to leave you guys for so long. Life has kinda been crazy. Any way here's the next chapter, enjoy. I hope this answers some questions.**

It was the unexpected speed and agility from the seemingly unconscious girl that had caught Will off guard. She glared down on him now, with eyes holding a variety of the different shades of green. They reminded him of the eyes of a panther stalking its prey.

The two remained in that position with Will's arm bent uncomfortably for only a few seconds before she suddenly released him and leapt backwards. Her feet skidded against the wet stone until she brought herself down to a menacing crouch.

The pose suggested a defensive strategy, she obliviously expected him to react with a sudden attack of his own.

Will simply held his hands above his head, palms facing her, while remaining on his back. He was forced to strain his neck in order to see her over his feet.

"Whoa it's ok. It's ok." Her eyelids fluttered but other wise, didn't move. He tried again, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you."

Still, she hesitated as if contemplating if she should believe him. Yet, soon after she dropped her gaze and heaved a sigh of what seemed like relief, and unfolded herself from her crouch.

"You didn't hurt me." The girl strolled towards him and Will could finally lower his head. "You just shouldn't have scared me like that."

When she was finally close enough, her hand stretched out to him. Will took the friendly movement as an apology and gave her his hand. Still, he didn't feel right about letting the small girl help him to his feet. So he simply heaved himself forward, only letting her take a fraction of his weight.

"I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't expecting you to react like that." He remembered the way she had quickly knocked him to the ground and suddenly felt a small admiration towards her.

She grinned with a slight giggle in return. "You and everyone else in the world, what's your name? Why are you here?"

"I'm Will," he began. The girl offered a half salute half wave gesture, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Payton."

Will's eyebrows drew together slightly at the name. "Are you from Araluen?" Payton hooked her thumbs over her belt and shook her head slightly. "Well sort of. I was born here, but grew up in Gallica. I only recently returned."

Will explained to her his apprenticeship to Halt, the ranger, and the details of his capture. He couldn't help but notice how she seemed to be in awe of him when he mentioned his status as an apprentice ranger. "So why are you here?"

Payton leaned against the back wall as she explained, "Well my parents died while I was in Gallica. So when I moved back I found a job working for a blacksmith in Celtica." She suddenly frowned and her voice grew deeper with emotion. "Then those blasted Wargarls attacked the town; captured me and my mentor to make armor and weapons for the upcoming invasion." Will noticed that she was becoming agitated with the path that the conversation took. So he switched to something that was eating away at him like a parasite.

"How did you do that?"

"Make armor?" Payton stared blankly.

"No. How did you knock me over the way you did? That wrist lock that you used, and the stance you just had with your feet, where did you learn that?" Truth be told, Will was absolutely astonished, and slightly discouraged of his immediate defeat.

"It's sort of a complicated story," she replied.

"I'm listening." Will settled into a some what comfortable position on the ground. Payton smiled and folded herself cross-legged next to him.

"Well, it all took place in Gallica. My father was a fighter in an elite organization known as Les Ombre-"

"What's Les Ombre?" Will exploded before he could tame his sudden need to know about this mysterious group. Payton responded with a glare, obviously she didn't care for being interrupted. _Sort of like Halt_ Will thought. "Sorry."

"I guess you could say that they are the equivalent to Arulean's Ranger Corp. They deal with, for the most part, the same variety of missions and they are specifically hand picked by the king. However, the major difference between the two is that Les Ombre," Payton made the sign of quotations with her fingers to emphasize her next words.

"does not exists." She smiled at Will's questionable, yet intrigued stare. "They're existence is a secret. To the public, they only survived in ancient times, but were terminated by a vote of the royal family, until fifty years ago, when the new king had them reinstated to help fight off an oncoming war. He thought it wiser to keep everyone outside of governmental power oblivious to their return. In which case an enemy would remain in the dark as far as numbers of the king's army, and would provide a more suitable surprise. Apparently my father didn't trust that I could handle myself and taught me how to fight in hand to hand combat, the way of les ombre. "

All of Will's discouragement fled. This girl overpowered him because he only possessed nearly a year of training with his bow and arrow; while she had been schooled for nearly half of her life, learning to fight with no weapons. She certainly had the advantage.

"Wait, but why are you telling me all this if they're existence is suppose to be a secret?"

Payton huffed, "Oh please. If you do actually go to Gallica and tell a group of random people that some girl you just met told you everything about them, they wouldn't believe you. People make up stories about les Ombre all the time."

"What about the hand to hand combat? Does it work that well?"

Payton's eyes fluttered. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what if your opponent has a weapon?"

She shrugged, "So? Did you know that ninety eight percent of a warriors trust is in his weapon? Well, what would happen when it breaks or you're disarmed?"

Will recalled the conversation he had with Gillan a few days ago. Payton smiled again.

"That's what I-"BANG!!! The door swung open and bounced off the opposing wall. Payton jumped to the bars and watched as five men entered, all heavily armed with swords and daggers storming towards them.

"What kind of training do you have with phscological torture?" she whispered hoarsely.

Will shook his head; he was growing alarmed by her question, "None."

Payton turned back to him; her green eyes were wide with intense concern.

"May God be with you then."


	4. Chapter 4

Despite himself Halt couldn't help but smirk to himself under the concealment of his cloak. The battle was proving to side in the Kings favor. The ambush was pulled off almost perfectly, and now Morgarath was wielding the flag of truce. Yet, Will was still missing, still captured in Lord knows what conditions. The day isn't a complete victory just yet.

He sat mounted on Abelard now with Baron Arald, Sir Rodney, and King Duncan by his side, also mounted on their own horses. As The Lord of Rain and Night made his way toward them, Halt could feel his stomach turn in disgust. The traitor was flanked by several men on each side of him. Not Skandians, Halt realized, more likely low life criminals looking for a way to make money. Morgarath gave him a menacing smirk before turning his attention to the king. Halt's heart quickened, this couldn't be good.

Duncan and Morgarath debated back and forth, the hatred for each other was clear in both of their voices. Halt merely rose his eyebrow at the man's demand for his right to duel, and was only slightly surprised when the challenge was made to himself.

"Halt is forbidden to accept!" the king commanded angrily. Again The Lord of Rain and Night smiled a non friendly smile at him.

"Still slinking and hiding, Halt?" he sneered "Like all Rangers. Apparently some of you better then others."

Halt's heart again doubled its pace, although he kept his outward reaction to a minimum.

Morgarath was overjoyed; he could tell what the Ranger was thinking. "Yes you see it was one of your Ranger brats who burned my bridge. Stubborn little thing, wouldn't so much as reveal his own name after about fifteen lashes. Normally they only last until three-four at the most." He paused slightly to study Halt's face. "Does the name, Will mean anything to you?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer. The boy had already eventually confessed his apprenticeship to the legendary Ranger.

Arald let out a small gasp. Halt just stared, refusing to show the rage that was barely contained.

The traitor turned to the guards beside him. "Bring him out." Two of them nodded and jogged back to where they had entered from. Morgarath turned to them and smirked, "I warn you, it's not a pretty sight."

The two henchmen returned practically dragging a small figure in between them. The boy's hands were behind his back, securely bound, setting the left shoulder in a crooked and incredibly painful looking angle. One of his legs was dragging somewhat behind him, obviously broken. Will's chin was pressed firmly to his chest, as if completely consumed by exhaustion. The men made halted beside their Lord, and shoved Will to the ground before returning to their normal position. The fall had caused Will to cry out in unspeakable pain. The back of his shirt was drenched with blood.

Halt nearly jumped from his horse at the sight, if it weren't for the firm grip on his arm, although he had no idea whose hand it was. His focus was completely on the scene before him.

Morgarath grinned, finally seeing the reaction he wanted from his unemotional enemy. He stooped to grab Will by his hair and haul him to his feet. Needing to lean the small amount of body weight on him self if he wanted the kid to be able to stand on his own. Sure he could have just had his men continue to hold the apprentice. Yet, the temptation to see Halt's face as his enemy literally held his student's life in his hands was too great.

Will's face showed even more signs of abuse. Blood that had once pored freely from his nose was now dried and all over his chin and lip. One eye was swollen shut from all the kicks and punches the boy must have received from his tormentors. His other eye was only slightly open, and devoid of any awareness of his surroundings and the events taking place.

"How about now," Morgarath asked, giving Will's head a shake. "This wouldn't happen to be your run away apprentice would it?"

**AN: Again completly sorry about the wait. i hope it was worth it. wasn't planning on ending the chp here but im having a hard time deciding on what i want to happen next so suggestions will be great!=) **


	5. Chapter 5

Halt couldn't take his eyes off his young apprentice. The young man seemed to be absent from his own body. Will's eyes were blank and glazed over with fatigue and pain. Halt was surprised he was still conscious.

Will was having a hard time concentrating. Everything hurt. His entire leg felt like it had been crushed, and the longer he tried to stay alert, the intensity of his head ache seemed to triple. He couldn't remember the last time he was even close to this much pain. However, the worst pain of all was in his heart. He had failed Halt. He had given in to the pain and told his torturers what they wanted to know. His mentor would be ashamed. If he were to die now, the chance to apologize and beg for forgiveness would be lost.

Pushing through the fog of agony, Will cracked his eyes open. The light was too much, and he immediately closed them again. No! The apprentice scolded himself. This is his only chance to beg for his master's forgiveness. Slowly, he opened them again, his swollen eye being more difficult.

He could make out the handful of people on horseback in front of him. Scanning the faces until he found the normally grim, grey bearded face he was looking for.

Halt's face looked horrified. His mouth was agape with obvious shock, and his eyes gave away the fear and worry he felt for his student. Will's courage began to falter, and tears began to gather in his eyes. He hated the thought of what Halt would say when he learned of his weakness. Yet, he needed to tell him. He opened his mouth to speak, but his throat refused to co-operate.

Halt saw Will's mouth open slightly, and the look he had seen all the times Will had answered a question wrong or missed his target with an arrow was etched in his face. Even a blind man could tell what was on his apprentices mind. The lad thought he had failed him. Halt looked at his apprentice in those big brown eyes, and offered him the barest hint of a smile, and slightly shook his head.

Will's face immediately brightened despite his current circumstances, he understood. Halt wasn't disappointed; he didn't blame Will in the slightest. Will let the tears that had gathered fall, he was so relieved that for a few moments, his physical pain was gone.

Gilan's heart was heavy. His previous guilt for leaving Will, Horace, and Evelyn by themselves couldn't escape his mind; Will could die because of his poor decisions. He should have known better.

Horace couldn't hide his anger. His hands shook with the raging fury that he felt toward Morgarath, and his cruel treatment of his good friend. It took every fiber of self control not to charge at the hideous vulture, with his sword ready.

Morgarath on the other hand, couldn't be more proud of himself. The numerous stunned and angry faces around him were obviously an answer to his question. The boy was Halt's apprentice. He smirked and motioned to the men who had brought Will. They grabbed the boy and started back the same path they had walked before, taking Will away from the scene.

"What do you say Halt?" Morgarath shouted so that all could hear. "You kill me and you can have him back. However, when I kill you," he paused for a moment, savoring the thought of his sword piercing the Ranger's heart. "I promised him to some Skandians who could use some extra profit."

Halt's blood pulsed wildly, and his face went red. However, before he could accept the challenge, commotion stirred as a horse cantered through the throng of soldiers and came to a sliding stop next to him. Horace sat in his saddle, back straight and knuckles white around his reins.

"Morgarath!" he shouted. "I challenge you to a duel!"

The crowd went completely silent as they watched for the Lord of Rain and Night's reaction. Most of them were too stunned to say or do anything. It was clear that the warrior apprentice had lost his head. Morgarath smirked, "And who are you to challenge me, boy?"

"I am Horace, a warrior apprentice."

Halt couldn't keep silent any longer. "Are you mad?" he whispered furiously.

Horace leaned closer in the saddle. "I saw a group of Skandians kill the men who had taken Will away. Halt, their not going to wait and see wither or not Morgarath wins. Their taking all their money, and profit now, they don't want to be here if he looses."

Halt looked upon Horace in awe. How had the young man seen all this? "Go find Will, and I'll take care of this vulture who calls himself a lord." Horace sat up and looked Morgarath in the eye. "What do you say? Or are you scared of loosing to an apprentice?" The young man taunted.

Morgarath's eyes narrowed and laughed softly. It wasn't beneath him to kill one so young. This should be easy. "I accept." When he turned away, Halt leaned in again.

"I hope you know what you're doing." He had no doubt in Horace's ability, for he had seen him fight before. Yet, this was no practice match with wooden swords. This was real.

Horace turned back to him, only a sliver of doubt in his eyes, "Me to."


End file.
